AHL Morning Skate: June 1

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2012 Calder Cup Finals – Game 1 – 7:30 ET
TV: Leafs TV (Toronto), ESPN America
Satellite Radio:
NHL Home Ice (Sirius 207, XM 92)
Webcast:
AHL Live

The AHL’s Calder Cup Finals come to Virginia for the first time ever as Norfolk hosts Toronto in Game 1 of the league’s 76th championship series tonight… The Admirals, top seed in the Eastern Conference, eliminated Manchester (3-1), Connecticut (4-2) and St. John’s (4-0) to reach the Finals, while the Marlies skated past Rochester (3-0), Abbotsford (4-1) and Oklahoma City (4-1) to win the West as the #2 seed… Norfolk enters the series on a six-game winning streak, outscoring the opposition 20-3 in that span… Admirals goaltender Dustin Tokarski (8-2, 1.65, .939) stopped 113 of 115 shots in the conference finals (4-0, 0.50, .983), and enters the Calder Cup Finals with a shutout streak of 159:46 intact after blanking St. John’s in Games 3 and 4… The Marlies’ Ben Scrivens (11-2, 1.61, .944) shined in the conference finals as well, going 4-1 with eight goals allowed on 142 shots (1.61, .944) and two shutouts in five games vs. Oklahoma City… After tallying 6-19-25 in 42 regular-season games, Norfolk’s Alexandre Picard leads the AHL in postseason scoring with 8-7-15 in 14 contests… Alex Killorn, who finished his senior season at Harvard in March and graduated with a degree in government last week, has recorded 3-8-11 in 13 playoff games for the Admirals… Toronto forwards Philippe Dupuis (4-9-13) and Nicolas Deschamps (3-9-12) shared the AHL third-round scoring lead with 2-5-7 apiece in the Western Conference finals… Matt Frattin (10-3-13), who scored five goals in the conference finals to take over the league lead with 10 playoff markers, was injured late in Game 5 and is expected to miss the Finals… Jerry D’Amigo (8-5-13) leads the AHL with a plus-13 rating in 13 playoff games… Norfolk finished first overall in the AHL standings during the 2011-12 regular season while Toronto placed third… The Marlies were first in the AHL in penalty killing in the regular season (88.1 percent) and are first in the playoffs as well, allowing just three power-play goals in 61 chances (95.1 percent)… The Admirals’ penalty-killing has been successful at 93.6 percent in the postseason (73-for-78)… Norfolk enters the series with a 39-3 record in its last 42 games since Feb. 5; Toronto is 23-6 in its last 29 since Mar. 9.

2012 Calder Cup Finals – Series “O” (best-of-7)
E1-Norfolk Admirals vs. W2-Toronto Marlies
Game 1 Fri., June 1 Toronto at Norfolk, 7:30 
Game 2 Sat., June 2 Toronto at Norfolk, 7:15 
Game 3 Thurs., June 7 Norfolk at Toronto, 7:00
Game 4 Sat., June 9 Norfolk at Toronto, 3:00 
*Game 5 Sun., June 10 Norfolk at Toronto, 3:00 
*Game 6 Wed., June 13 Toronto at Norfolk, 7:15 
*Game 7 Fri., June 15 Toronto at Norfolk, 7:30
   *if necessary… All times Eastern


From Calder to Stanley

Jonathan Quick made 16 saves as Los Angeles opened the 2012 Stanley Cup Final with a 2-1 overtime win over New Jersey in Game 1 on Wednesday night… Colin Fraser, who scored three career Calder Cup Playoff goals in his time with Norfolk (2004-07) and Rockford (2007-08), netted the first goal of his NHL playoff career for the Kings, while Jordan Nolan, who skated in 40 AHL games with Manchester this season, notched an assist… Anton Volchenkov, an AHL All-Star in 2005, scored for the Devils… Game 2 is Saturday night in Newark.


By the Numbers

74.7 – Percentage of Game 1 winners in Calder Cup Finals history who have gone on to win the series (56 of 75).

207:27 – Longest shutout streak by a goaltender in Calder Cup Playoff history, a record set by AHL Hall of Famer Marcel Paille with the Springfield Indians in 1962.


On This Date

June 1, 2011Matt Hackett makes 28 saves and Jon DiSalvatore records a goal and an assist as Houston defeats Binghamton, 2-1, in the first Calder Cup Finals game played at the Broome County Arena since 1982.

June 1, 2008Darren Haydar notches two goals and an assist and defenseman Joel Kwiatkowski scores a power-play goal for the sixth consecutive game as Chicago takes a 2-0 series lead with a 4-2 win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in Game 2 of the Calder Cup Finals.

June 1, 2007Carey Price shines with 46 saves and Corey Locke leads the offense with two goals and an assist as Hamilton defeats Hershey, 4-0, in Game 1 of the Calder Cup Finals.

June 1, 2004Mathieu Darche scores 13:01 into overtime as Milwaukee opens up the Calder Cup Finals with a 2-1 win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

June 1, 1999Martin Biron makes 24 saves as Rochester advances to the Calder Cup Finals for the 15th time in team history with a 4-2 win over Philadelphia in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals.

June 1, 1996 – In the first AHL game ever played in the month of June, Rochester defeats Portland, 5-3, in Game 1 of the Calder Cup Finals..


AHL Live

Don’t miss a second on the road to the 2012 Calder Cup championship. AHL Live brings AHL action to your computer all season long with live video webcasts and highlights of every AHL game, as well as behind-the-scenes features and interviews in the Video On Demand section… Visit ahllive.com for details.